Method of emanating a sound from a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A method of emanating a sound from a vehicle includes detecting a transmission state and a brake state of the vehicle and determining whether a vehicle movement state indicates intent to move the vehicle from a stationary state based on the transmission state and the brake state. The method further includes emanating the sound when the vehicle movement state indicates intent to move the vehicle, and refraining from emanating the sound when the vehicle is in the stationary state and the vehicle movement state fails to indicate intent to move the vehicle.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a system and method ofemanating a sound from a vehicle. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a system and method of emanating a sound from avehicle based on intent to move the vehicle.

2. Background Information

Electric and hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly popular forreasons such as rising fuel costs and environmental concerns. Asecondary advantage of the shift toward widespread use of electricvehicles is the reduction of ambient noise which is emanated by aninternal combustion engine (ICE) used in most vehicles today. With 100%electric power running the vehicle, generally only tire noise and someslight electric motor noise is generated during operation of fullyelectric vehicles. Although this greatly reduces noise pollution, thislack of noise can make it difficult for pedestrians to detect thepresence of a vehicle. That is, pedestrians are highly reliant on ICEnoise to detect the presence of vehicles, especially when the pedestrianis hearing or visually impaired.

One attempted solution to enable better pedestrian detection of thevehicle is to generate a vehicle sound for pedestrians (VSP). Forexample, a vehicle can be controlled to emit a synthetic ICE soundduring operation of the vehicle, thereby enabling detection of theelectric vehicle in the same way as ICE vehicles. Other attempts togenerate sounds can include, for example, generating an unpleasanthorn-like sound at an ambient noise frequency, or generating a soundhaving peaks at an ambient noise frequency.

SUMMARY

It has been discovered that it is desirable to control the vehicle toemit a VSP at appropriate times to warn pedestrians and to refrain fromemitting a VSP at unnecessary times. For example, if a vehicle is idlingin a driveway in the morning to warm up the passenger cabin on a coldday, the VSP being emitted may annoy neighbors trying to sleep. Also, ifa driver is stopped in traffic on a hot day with the vehicle windowsdown, the driver and drivers of other vehicles may become annoyedhearing the VSP through the open windows. Furthermore, since theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may prohibit VSPsystems from including turn off switches, a driver may be unable totemporarily disable the VSP system during times when VSP emission isunnecessary.

In view of the state of the known technology, one aspect of the presentinvention provides a method of emanating a sound from a vehicleincluding detecting a transmission state and a brake state of thevehicle and determining whether a vehicle movement state indicatesintent to move the vehicle from a stationary state based on thetransmission state and the brake state. The method further includesemanating the sound when the vehicle movement state indicates intent tomove the vehicle, and refraining from emanating the sound when thevehicle is in the stationary state and the vehicle movement state failsto indicate intent to move the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of thisoriginal disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an example of components of asystem for emanating a sound from a vehicle according to a disclosedembodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an exemplary process performed by the systemshown in FIG. 1 to emanate the sound from the vehicle according todisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary graphical representation of the process shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B during vehicle forward movement at low speed;

FIG. 4 is a variation to the graphical representation shown in FIG. 3illustrating exemplary operations that can be performed when the vehiclemovement state does not indicate an intent to move the vehicle at orabout the time that the vehicle comes to a stop;

FIG. 5 is a variation to the graphical representation shown in FIG. 3illustrating exemplary operations that can be performed when the speedof the vehicle reaches a predetermined speed; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary graphical representation of the process shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B during vehicle reverse movement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Selected embodiments will now be explained with reference to thedrawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thisdisclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments areprovided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting theinvention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a vehicle sound emanating system 10 foruse in a vehicle 12 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. The vehicle 12 can be an electric or hybridvehicle as understood in the art, and can be any type of vehicle such asa car, truck, van, SUV and so on. The vehicle sound emanating system 10includes a controller 14 and a vehicle sound production (VSP) module 16that generates a sound that can serve as an audible alert as discussedin more detail below. As understood by one skilled in the art, thecontroller 14 preferably includes a microcomputer with a control programthat controls the vehicle sound emanating system 10 as discussed herein.The controller 14 can also include other conventional components such asan input interface circuit, an output interface circuit, and storagedevices such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) device and a RAM (Random AccessMemory) device. The RAM and ROM store processing results and controlprograms that are run by the controller 14. The controller 14 isoperatively coupled to the components of the vehicle sound emanatingsystem 10, and to the components of the vehicle 12 as appropriate, in aconventional manner. It will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom this disclosure that the precise structure and algorithms for thecontroller 14 can be any combination of hardware and software that willcarry out the functions of the present invention.

The controller 14 receives signals from the start switch 18, acceleratorposition sensor 20, speed sensor 22, brake state detector 24 andtransmission state detector 26, and controls the VSP module 16 based onthose signals as discussed in more detail below. The vehicle soundemanating system 10 can further include a VSP switch 28 that provideson/off signals to the VSP module 16 that enables a user to turn the VSPmodule 16 on and off. The VSP module 16 provides signals to at least oneaudio component 30, such as a speaker arrangement, to cause the audiocomponent 30 to generate an audible alert as discussed in more detailbelow. The terms “sound” and “audible alert” can be used interchangeablyherein.

Specifically, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to emanate asound from the vehicle 12 according to the exemplary process as shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B and in the graphs as shown in FIGS. 3-6. For purposes ofthe embodiments described herein, the terms “continuously,” “continuous”and any variations or synonyms thereof as used to modify terms such as“sound,” “signal,” “emanating”, “emanate,” “emit” and so on refer to theoutputting or emanation of a sound profile, sound or signal in a mannerthat is perceptible as continuous (i.e., without pauses or gaps) by ahuman having normal hearing. In other words, for example, “continuouslyemanating a sound” refers to the continuous emanation of a sound, aswell as the emanation of sound profile with pauses, gaps, dead spots,etc., in a manner such that the sound profile is perceived as acontinuous sound profile by a human having normal hearing even thoughthe actual emanation is not in fact continuous.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the process begins when the controller 14determines based on signals from the start switch 18 (e.g., an ignitionor starter) that the vehicle 12 is started from an “off” state to an“on” or running state in step 100. During the vehicle starting period,the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to refrain from emanatingan audible alert sound from the audio component 30 in step 110. Thevehicle starting period is shown as the period between times t0 and t1in, for example, FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is an exemplary graphical representationof the process shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B during vehicle forward movementat low speed as discussed in more detail below.

The controller 14 then determines in step 120 whether a vehicle movementstate indicates intent to move the vehicle 12 from a stationary state.The controller 14 can determine that the vehicle 12 is in a stationarystate when, for example, the transmission state detector 26 indicatesthat the vehicle transmission is in a park position or in a neutralposition, or the brake state detector 24 indicates the emergency brakeis on. Naturally, the transmission can be an automatic transmission or amanual transmission as understood in the art. The controller 14 can alsodetermine that the vehicle 12 is in a stationary state when, forexample, the speed sensor 22 indicates that the vehicle 12 is notmoving, regardless of the positions of the transmission, the brake andthe emergency brake. When the vehicle 12 is in the stationary state,such as during the period between t1 and t2 in FIG. 3, the controller 14continues to receive signals from the brake state detector 24 and thetransmission state detector 26. The controller 14 can detect the vehiclemovement state from, for example, at least a transmission state and abrake state of the vehicle 12. The controller 12 thus determines in step120 whether the vehicle movement state indicates intent to move thevehicle 12 based on the transmission state and the brake state. If thebrake has not been moved into the brake depressed state, the controller14 controls the VSP module 16 to continue to refrain from emanating thesound. That is, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to continueto refrain from emanating the sound in step 110 during a vehicle runningstate after the vehicle starting period and before a brake of thevehicle 12 is moved into a brake depressed state while the vehicle 12 isin a stationary state. In other words, the controller 14 controls theVSP module 16 to refrain from emanating the sound when the vehicle 12 isin the stationary state and the vehicle movement state fails to indicateintent to move the vehicle 12.

As can be appreciated from the above, the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to maintain the vehicle stationary when thetransmission state is a non-motive state and the brake state is a brakeundepressed or released state. It should be noted that the termsundepressed or released can be used interchangeably. When the controller14 determines in step 120 that, for example, the brake is moved into thebrake depressed state (time t2 in FIG. 3), the controller 14 determinesthat the vehicle movement state indicates intent to move the vehicle 12from the stationary state. In this example, the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle 12 when the transmission state is anon-motive state, such as a vehicle park position or a vehicle neutralposition, and the brake state is a brake depressed state. Accordingly,processing continues to step 130 where the controller 14 controls theVSP module 16 to emanate an audible alert from the audio component 30 ata first sound pressure level while the vehicle 12 is in the stationarystate.

The controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to continue emanating theaudible alert from the audio component 30 while the controller 14monitors the signals from the transmission state detector 26 in step140. When the controller 14 determines based on the signals from thetransmission state detector 26 that the transmission has not yet beenmoved to a motive state, the processing returns to step 120 to confirmthat the vehicle movement state still indicates an intent to move. Ifthe vehicle movement state still indicates an intent to move, thecontroller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to continue emanating theaudible alert from the audio component 30 in step 130 and proceeds tostep 140. If the vehicle movement state fails to indicate intent tomove, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to refrain fromemanating the audible alert from the audio component 30 in step 110 andrepeats as discussed above.

However, when the controller 14 determines based on the signals from thetransmission state detector 26 that the transmission has been moved to amotive state (time t3 in FIG. 3), the processing continues to step 150.It should be noted that when the transmission state is a motive stateand the brake state is any brake state, the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle.

In step 150, the controller 14 determines whether the motive state is avehicle forward movement position (e.g., a drive transmission position)or a vehicle reverse movement position (i.e., a reverse transmissionposition). As mentioned above, the transmission can be an automatic ormanual transmission. Thus, for a manual transmission, the forwardmovement position could be any of the forward gear positions such asfirst gear, second gear, third gear and so on. If the controller 14determines that the motive state is a vehicle forward movement position,the processing continues to step 160 where the controller 14 monitorsthe accelerator position sensor 20, the speed sensor 22, or both, todetermine whether the vehicle 12 has begun to move. During this time,the controller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to continue to emanatethe sound from the audio component 30 at the first sound pressure levelwhile the transmission state is the motive state (e.g., forward motivestate) and the brake state is the brake depressed state.

When the controller 14 determines in step 160 that the vehicle 12 is notmoving, the controller 14 determines in step 170 whether the brake stateis a brake released state. If the brake state is not a brake releasedstate, the processing will return to step 140 as discussed above, andthe controller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to continue to emanatethe sound from the audio component 30 at the first sound pressure level.Assuming that the gear remains in the forward motive gear and thevehicle 12 is not moving, the processing will proceed through steps 140,150 and 160 as discussed above. The controller 14 will continue tomonitor the brake state and repeat the steps as discussed above. Whenthe controller 14 determines in step 170 that the brake is in a brakereleased state, the processing continues to step 180.

In step 180, the controller 14 determines based on signals from theaccelerator position sensor 20 whether the accelerator is in a depressedstate. If the accelerator is not in a depressed state, the processingreturns to step 170 and repeats as discussed above. That is, as long asthe brake is in the brake released state, the processing will continueto step 180.

When the controller 14 determines in step 180 that the accelerator is ina depressed state and thus, the vehicle 12 will begin to move (time t4in FIG. 3), the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to emanate atake off sound from the audio component 30 in step 190. For example, thecontroller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to emanate the take offsound at a second sound pressure level that is greater than the firstsound pressure level upon first detecting that the brake state changesfrom the brake depressed state to the brake released state and thendetecting that the accelerator state changes from a released state to adepressed state while the transmission state is the motive state and thevehicle 12 is in the stationary state (time t4 in FIG. 3).

After emitting the take off sound at the second sound pressure level fora predetermined period of time from when the accelerator state changesfrom the released state to the depressed state (time t4 in FIG. 3), thecontroller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to decrease the sound. Thatis, in step 190, the controller 14 can control the VSP module 16 todecrease the sound from the second sound pressure level to a decreasedthird sound pressure level that is below the second sound pressure level(time t5 in FIG. 3). The third sound pressure level can be equal to orgreater than the first sound pressure level. The processing then returnsto step 160.

Since the accelerator was or still is in the depressed state, thecontroller 14 will determine in step 160 that the vehicle 12 is moving.Thus, the processing will continue to step 200. In step 200, thecontroller 14 can monitor the signals from the accelerator positionsensor 20, the signals from the speed sensor 22, or both, to determinewhether the vehicle 12 is being accelerated. If the controller 14determines that the vehicle 12 is being accelerated, the processingcontinues to step 210. In step 210, the controller 14 determines basedon the signals from the speed sensor 22 whether the speed of the vehicle12 is not above a predetermined speed (a first prescribed speed). Aslong as the speed of the vehicle 12 is at or below a predeterminedspeed, the processing continues to step 220 and the controller 14controls the VSP module 16 to increase the sound pressure level inrelation to the acceleration (or speed) of the vehicle 12. Therefore, asshown in FIG. 3, the sound pressure level increases to a fourth soundpressure level while the vehicle 12 is being accelerated. The fourthsound pressure level can be less than the second sound pressure level asshown, or can be any suitable level.

Thus, FIG. 3 illustrates operations that can occur when the vehicle 12is traveling at a low speed, such as below 30 km/hr or any othersuitable speed. In addition, the controller 14 can control the VSPmodule 16 to change a pitch of the sound in accordance with at least oneof the position of the accelerator and the speed of the vehicle 12.Furthermore, the controller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to pulsethe sound as discussed above with regard to FIG. 6 at any time that thesound is being emitted, and can vary the cadence of the pulsing asdesired, such as in accordance with acceleration (or speed) of thevehicle 12.

When the controller determines in step 200 that the vehicle 12 is nolonger being accelerated and is not moving at a speed above the firstpredetermined speed (time t6 in FIG. 3), the controller 14 can controlthe VSP module 16 to continue to emit the sound at the fourth soundpressure level. That is, if the controller 14 determines in step 200that the vehicle 12 is not being accelerated, the controller 14 canmonitor signals from the brake state detector 24, signals from the speedsensor 22, or both, in step 240 to determine whether the vehicle 12 isdecelerating. If the controller 14 determines in step 240 that thevehicle 12 is not decelerating, the controller 14 can proceed to step250 to determine whether the vehicle 12 is stopped based on, forexample, the signals from the vehicle speed sensor 22. If the vehicle 12is not stopped, the processing can return to step 160 and repeat asdiscussed above.

Therefore, although not shown explicitly in FIG. 3, the controller 14can continue to monitor the position of the accelerator, the signalsfrom the speed sensor 22, or both, in step 200 to determine whether thevehicle 12 is again accelerated. If the vehicle 12 is again beingaccelerated, the processing can return to step 210 to determine whetherthe vehicle 12 is not traveling above the predetermined speed. If thevehicle 12 is still not traveling above the predetermined speed, theprocessing continues to step 220 and the controller 14 can control theVSP module 16 to increase the pressure level of the emitted sound inrelation to the acceleration of the vehicle 12.

The controller 14 also continues to monitor whether the vehicle 12 isbeing decelerated. That is, if the controller 14 determines in step 200that the vehicle 12 is not being accelerated, the controller 14 canmonitor signals from the brake state detector 24, signals from the speedsensor 22, or both, in step 240. If the controller 14 determines in step240 that the vehicle 12 is decelerating, the controller 14 can determinein step 260 whether the speed of the vehicle 12 is below a secondprescribed speed. Presumably, for this example where the vehicle 12 istraveling at a low speed, such as below 30 km/hr or any other suitablespeed, the speed of the vehicle 12 will be below the second prescribedspeed. The second prescribed speed can be equal to or about equal to thefirst prescribed speed (e.g., 30 km/hr, 25 km/hr or any other suitablespeed).

Accordingly, if the controller 14 determines in step 260 that thevehicle 12 is travelling below the second prescribed speed, theprocessing continues to step 270. In step 270, the controller 14 willcontrol the VSP module 16 to gradually decrease the pressure level ofthe emitted sound from the fourth sound pressure level (time t7 in FIG.3).

The controller 14 then determines in step 250 whether the vehicle 12 isstopped based on, for example, the signals from the vehicle speed sensor22. As discussed above, if the vehicle 12 is not stopped, the processingcan return to step 160. Assuming that the vehicle 12 is moving (step160), the vehicle 12 is not accelerating (step 200), the vehicle 12 isdecelerating (step 240) and the speed of the vehicle 12 is below thesecond prescribed speed (step 260), the controller 14 can control theVSP module 16 to continue to decrease the pressure level of the emittedsound from the fourth sound pressure level (or increased pressure level)to the first sound pressure level or any other suitable pressure levelin step 270. The processing then can repeat as discussed above as longas the vehicle 12 is not stopped.

When the controller 14 determines in step 250 that the vehicle 12 isstopped (time t8 in FIG. 3), the processing returns to step 120 asdiscussed above. Thus, in step 120, the controller 14 will determinewhether the vehicle movement state indicates intent to move the vehicle12 as discussed above. For example, the controller 14 will monitorsignals from the brake state detector 24 and the transmission statedetector 26 to determine whether the transmission has been moved to anon-motive state and the brake is in the depressed state, or thetransmission remains in a motive state. If the controller 14 determinesin step 120 that, for example, the transmission has not been moved to anon-motive state such as park or neutral (time t9 in FIG. 3) and thebrake is still in the depressed state, or the transmission remains in amotive state, the controller 14 will determine that the vehicle movementstate still indicates intent to move the vehicle 12. Accordingly, thecontroller 14 will control the VSP module 16 to continue to emit soundfrom the audio component 30 at the first sound pressure level in step130. If the controller 14 determines in step 140 that the transmissionis still in the motive gear, the processing proceeds to step 150 andrepeats as discussed above.

Furthermore, when the controller 14 determines in step 140 that thetransmission is in the non-motive state, the controller 14 willdetermine in step 120 whether the vehicle movement state still indicatesintent to move the vehicle 12 in the manner as discussed above. However,when the controller 14 determines in step 140 that the transmission isin the non-motive state and then determines in step 120 the brake is inthe released state, the controller 14 will thus determine in step 120that the vehicle movement state does not indicate intent to move thevehicle 12. Therefore, the controller 14 will control the VSP module 16in step 110 to discontinue emitting the sound (time t10 in FIG. 3). Inother words, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to ceaseemanating the sound when the vehicle returns to the stationary stateafter moving, the transmission state enters a non-motive state and thebrake state enters a released state, in which event the vehicle movementstate indicates intent to maintain the vehicle 12 stationary.

The process then repeats as discussed above. Naturally, if the vehicle12 is turned off, the process repeats at step 100 when the vehicle 12 isturned on again.

Also, instead of the controller 14 controlling the VSP module 16 in step220 to increase the sound pressure level, the controller 14 can insteadcontrol the VSP module 16 to maintain the sound pressure level at thethird sound pressure level as shown in broken line in FIG. 3, or at anyother suitable sound pressure level, during vehicle acceleration as longas the speed of the vehicle 12 is at or below a predetermined speed. Asstated above, the third sound pressure level can be at or above thefirst sound pressure level, but is below the second sound pressure levelof the take off sound. The processing otherwise is performed asdescribed above with regard to FIG. 3. Thus, when the processingcontinues to step 270, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 togradually decrease the pressure level of the emitted sound from thethird sound pressure level to the first sound pressure level (similar totime t7 in FIG. 3). Naturally, if the third pressure level is the sameas the first pressure level, no such decrease needs to be performed, andthe processing can continue as discussed above with regard to FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is identical to FIG. 3, except that FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof operations that can be performed when the controller 14 determines instep 120 that the vehicle movement state does not indicate intent tomove the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 comes to a stop at time t8. Thatis, in step 140 of the flowchart in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the controller 14detects based on signals from the transmission state detector 26 thatthe transmission has been moved to a non-motive state such as park orneutral at or proximate to the time that the vehicle 12 has come to astop. The controller 14 also detects in step 120 based on signals fromthe brake state detector 24 that the brake is in the released state ator proximate to the time that the vehicle 12 has come to a stop and thetransmission has been moved to the non-motive state.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the controller 14 will control the VSPmodule 16 in step 100 to discontinue emitting the sound at or proximateto time t8 in FIG. 4. The processing then repeats as discussed above.Therefore, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to refrain fromemanating the sound (an audible alert) from the audio component 30 instep 110. However, once the controller 14 determines in step 120 thatthe vehicle movement state indicates intent to move the vehicle 12, thecontroller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to emanate the sound at thefirst sound pressure level (time t9 in FIG. 4) and performs theoperations as discussed above. Accordingly, the times indicated at t10and t11 in FIG. 4 correspond to times t2 and t3, respectively, as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4.

Furthermore, as with the operations in FIG. 3, the controller 14 cancontrol the VSP module 16 to maintain the sound pressure level at thethird sound pressure level as shown in broken line in FIG. 4, or at anyother suitable sound pressure level, during vehicle acceleration as longas the speed of the vehicle 12 is at or below a predetermined speed. Theprocessing otherwise is performed as described above with regard to FIG.4. Thus, when the processing continues to step 270, the controller 14controls the VSP module 16 to gradually decrease the pressure level ofthe emitted sound from the third sound pressure level to the first soundpressure level (similar to time t7 in FIG. 4). Naturally, if the thirdpressure level is the same as the first pressure level, no such decreaseneeds to be performed, and the processing can continue as discussedabove with regard to FIG. 4.

As discussed above with regard to step 210 shown in the flowchart ofFIGS. 2A and 2B, the controller 14 determines in step 210 whether thespeed of the vehicle 12 is below the first prescribed speed. FIG. 5illustrates an exemplary graph of operations that the controller 14 canperform when the speed of the vehicle 12 reaches the first prescribedspeed. The graph shown in FIG. 5 from times t0 through t6 generallycorresponds to the graph shown in FIG. 3 from times t0 through t6.However, in FIG. 5, time t6 indicates the sound pressure level when thevehicle 12 reaches the first prescribed speed.

As shown in the flowchart of FIGS. 2A and 2B, when the controller 14determines in step 210 that the speed of the vehicle 12 is above thefirst prescribed speed, the processing proceeds to step 230. In thisexample, the first prescribed speed can be 30 km/hr or any othersuitable speed as discussed above. That is, as understood in the art,when the vehicle 12 is traveling at or above 25 km/hr, the noisenaturally produced by the vehicle 12, such as road noise and so on, issufficient enough to be detected by pedestrians, so the VSP sound is nolonger needed at those speeds.

In step 230, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to graduallydecrease or fade out the sound pressure level of the emitted sound untiltime t7 shown in FIG. 5 when the VSP module 16 ceases to emit the sound.The processing then returns to step 160 and repeats as discussed above.When the controller 14 determines in step 200 that the vehicle 12 is notaccelerating, the processing continues to step 240 where the controller14 determines whether the vehicle 12 is decelerating. If the vehicle 12is decelerating, the processing continues to step 260 where thecontroller 14 determines whether the vehicle 12 continues to travel ator above the second prescribed speed. In this example, the secondprescribed speed can be 25 km/hr or slightly below the first prescribedspeed as discussed above. Naturally, the first and second prescribedspeeds can be equal to each other or any suitable speeds. While thevehicle 12 is traveling at or above the second prescribed speed, thecontroller 14 controls the VSP module 16 in step 230 to continue torefrain from emitting the sound.

As further shown in the example of FIG. 5, the accelerator is releasedand the brake is pressed and enters the brake depressed state at timet8. Therefore, the speed of the vehicle 12 begins to decrease. When thecontroller 14 determines in step 260 that the speed of the vehicle 12has dropped to below the second prescribed speed (time t9 in FIG. 5),the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to gradually increase orfade in the sound pressure level of the emitted sound in step 270 untilthe VSP module 16 emits the sound at the fourth sound pressure level (orany other suitable sound pressure level) as discussed above.

The processing thus continues to step 250 as discussed above. If thevehicle 12 is not stopped, the processing returns to step 160 andrepeats. Since the controller 14 determines in step 240 that the vehicle12 is decelerating because, for example, the brake is determined to bein the brake depressed state and thus the speed sensor 22 indicates thatthe vehicle speed is decreasing, the controller 14 controls the VSPmodule 16 to decrease the sound pressure level in step 270 (time t10 inFIG. 5) to the first sound pressure level until the vehicle 12 isdetermined to be stopped in step 250 as discussed above. When thecontroller 14 determines in step 250 that the vehicle 12 is stopped(time t11 in FIG. 5), the processing returns to step 120 where thecontroller 14 will determine whether the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle 12 as discussed above. If thecontroller 14 determines in step 120 that the vehicle movement statestill indicates intent to move the vehicle 12, the controller 14 willcontrol the VSP module 16 to continue to emit sound in step 130.Furthermore, if the controller 14 determines in step 140 that thetransmission has been moved to a non-motive state such as park orneutral (time t12 in FIG. 5) and the brake is still in the depressedstate, the controller 14 will return to step 120 and determine that thevehicle movement state still indicates intent to move the vehicle 12.Accordingly, the controller 14 will control the VSP module 16 tocontinue to emit sound from the audio component 30 at the first soundpressure level in step 130. However, when the controller 14 determinesin step 140 that the transmission is in the non-motive state anddetermines in step 120 that the brake is in the released state, thecontroller 14 will determine that the vehicle movement state does notindicate intent to move the vehicle 12. Therefore, the controller 14will control the VSP module 16 in step 110 to discontinue emitting thesound (time t13 in FIG. 5).

The process then repeats as discussed above. Naturally, if the vehicle12 is turned off, the process repeats at step 100 when the vehicle 12 isturned on again.

Furthermore, as with the operations in FIGS. 3 and 4, the controller 14can control the VSP module 16 to maintain the sound pressure level atthe third sound pressure level as shown in broken line in FIG. 5, or atany other suitable sound pressure level, during vehicle acceleration aslong as the speed of the vehicle 12 is at or below a predetermined speed(times t5 through t6). The processing otherwise is performed asdescribed above with regard to FIG. 5. Thus, in step 230, the controller14 controls the VSP module 16 to gradually decrease or fade out thesound pressure level of the emitted sound from the third sound pressurelevel until time t7 shown in FIG. 5 when the VSP module 16 ceases toemit the sound. The processing then returns to step 160 and repeats asdiscussed above. When the controller 14 determines in step 260 that thespeed of the vehicle 12 has dropped to below the second prescribed speed(time t9 in FIG. 5), the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 togradually increase or fade in the sound pressure level of the emittedsound in step 270 until the VSP module 16 emits and maintains the soundat the third sound pressure level (or any other suitable sound pressurelevel) as discussed above. When the processing continues to step 270,the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16 to gradually decrease thepressure level of the emitted sound from the third sound pressure levelto the first sound pressure level (similar to time t10 in FIG. 4).Naturally, if the third pressure level is the same as the first pressurelevel, no such decrease needs to be performed, and the processing cancontinue as discussed above with regard to FIG. 5.

As discussed above with regard to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the controller 14determines in step 150 whether the motive state is a vehicle forwardmovement position (e.g., a drive transmission position or any forwardmotive gear position) or a vehicle reverse movement position (i.e., areverse transmission position). If the controller 14 determines that themotive state is a vehicle reverse movement position, the processingcontinues to step 280 where the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16to emit a reverse movement sound as shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustratesan exemplary graph of operations that the controller 14 can perform whenthe motive state is a vehicle reverse movement position. The graph shownin FIG. 6 from times t0 through t3 generally corresponds to the graphshown in FIG. 3 from times t0 through t3. However, in FIG. 6, time t3indicates the time that the controller 14 determines that the motivestate is a vehicle reverse movement position.

Accordingly, in step 280, the controller 14 controls the VSP module 16to emanate the sound, including pulsing the sound when the vehiclemovement state indicates intent to move the vehicle 12 and thetransmission state is a vehicle reverse movement position. Thecontroller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to pulse the sound betweenzero and a second level, or between a level greater than zero and thesecond level. The second level can be greater than or equal to the firstlevel, for example, or the fourth level shown in FIG. 6 which isdiscussed below. Also, while the transmission is in the vehicle reversemovement position, the controller 14 can continue to detect signals fromaccelerator position sensor 20, the speed sensor 22, the brake statedetector 24 and the transmission state detector 26. Thus, when thecontroller 14 determines in step 290 that the vehicle 12 is stillstationary, the controller 14 can control the VSP module 16 to continueto pulse the sound in step 280.

However, when the brake is in the brake released state and thecontroller 14 determines, for example, from the speed sensor 22 or theaccelerator position sensor 20 that the accelerator is in theaccelerator depressed state and the vehicle 12 is thus moving (time t4in FIG. 6), the processing can continue to step 200 and repeat asdiscussed above. In other words, although not shown explicitly in FIG.6, the controller 14 can change the peak sound pressure (volume) of theemitted sound based on the acceleration (or speed) of the vehicle 12 inthe reverse direction in a manner similar to that described above withregard to the forward movement of the vehicle 12. The controller 14 canstill control the VSP module 16 to continue to pulse the sound evenduring this increase and decrease in peak sound pressure based onacceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 12. Naturally, thecontroller 14 can change the rate of pulsing (e.g., increase or decreasethe rate of pulsing or cadence rate) when the vehicle 12 is beingaccelerated or decelerated in the reverse direction. Of course, thecontroller 14 can alternatively control the VSP module 16 to continue topulse the sound between the same levels (volumes) and at the same pitchand cadence regardless of the acceleration and deceleration of thevehicle 12 as shown in FIG. 6.

While repeating the operations shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B in a mannersimilar to that for the forward movement of the vehicle 12 as discussedabove, the controller 14 can determine that the brake is in the brakedepressed state (time t5 in FIG. 6) and the vehicle 12 is stopped (timet6 in FIG. 6). The controller 14 can thus determine whether thetransmission position has changed in steps 140 and 150 as discussedabove. If the transmission position has not changed from the reversevehicle position, the controller 14 will control the VSP module 16 tocontinue to pulse the sound as discussed above. However, if thecontroller 14 determines in step 150 that the transmission position haschanged to, for example, a vehicle forward movement position, theprocessing will proceed to step 160 and repeat as discussed above. Asindicated, times t6, t7, t8 and t9 in FIG. 6 generally correspond totimes t3, t4, t5 and t6, respectively, in FIG. 3. Thus, the operationsperformed at times t6, t7, t8 and t9 in FIG. 6 generally correspond tothe operations performed at times t3, t4, t5 and t6, respectively, inFIG. 3 as discussed above. Also, the third, fourth and fifth soundlevels shown in FIG. 6 generally correspond with the second, third andfourth sound levels, respectively, shown in FIG. 3. Naturally, asdiscussed above with regard to FIGS. 3-5, the controller 14 can controlthe VSP module 16 to maintain the sound pressure level at the fourthsound pressure level as shown in broken line in FIG. 6, or at any othersuitable sound pressure level, during vehicle acceleration as long asthe speed of the vehicle 12 is at or below a predetermined speed.

GENERAL INTERPRETATION OF TERMS

In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term“comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to beopen ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features,elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not excludethe presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups,integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words havingsimilar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and theirderivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member” or“element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of asingle part or a plurality of parts. Also, the term “detect” as usedherein to describe an operation or function carried out by a component,a section, a device or the like includes a component, a section, adevice or the like that does not require physical detection, but ratherincludes determining, measuring, modeling, predicting or computing orthe like to carry out the operation or function. The term “configured”as used herein to describe a component, section or part of a deviceincludes hardware and/or software that is constructed and/or programmedto carry out the desired function. The terms of degree such as“substantially”, “about” and “approximately” as used herein mean areasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the endresult is not significantly changed.

While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthis disclosure that various changes and modifications can be madeherein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims. For example, the size, shape, location ororientation of the various components can be changed as needed and/ordesired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting eachother can have intermediate structures disposed between them. Thefunctions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versa. Thestructures and functions of one embodiment can be adopted in anotherembodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in aparticular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is uniquefrom the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, alsoshould be considered a separate description of further inventions by theapplicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodiedby such feature(s). Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the embodimentsaccording to the present invention are provided for illustration only,and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of emanating a sound from a vehiclecomprising: detecting a transmission state and a brake state of thevehicle; determining whether a vehicle movement state indicates intentto move the vehicle from a stationary state based on the transmissionstate and the brake state; and emanating the sound when the vehiclemovement state indicates intent to move the vehicle, and refraining fromemanating the sound when the vehicle is in the stationary state and thevehicle movement state fails to indicate intent to move the vehicle. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle when the transmission state is anon-motive state and the brake state is a brake depressed state.
 3. Themethod according to claim 2, wherein the non-motive state is one of avehicle park position and a vehicle neutral position.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 2, further comprising detecting an accelerator stateof the vehicle; and the emanating includes emanating the sound at afirst sound pressure level while the transmission state is the motivestate and the brake state is the brake depressed state, and emanatingthe sound at a second sound pressure level greater than the first soundpressure level upon first detecting the brake state changing from thebrake depressed state to the brake released state and then detecting theaccelerator state changing from a released state to a depressed statewhile the transmission state is the motive state and the vehicle is inthe stationary state.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein theemanating includes decreasing the sound from the second sound pressurelevel to a decreased sound pressure level below the second soundpressure level after a predetermined period of time from when theaccelerator state changes from the released state to the depressedstate, and increasing a sound pressure level of the sound from thedecreased sound pressure level in relation to acceleration of thevehicle while the accelerator state is the depressed state.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle when the transmission state is amotive state and the brake state is any brake state.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the motive state is one of a vehicleforward movement position and a vehicle reverse movement position. 8.The method according to claim 1, wherein the emanating of the soundincludes pulsing the sound when the vehicle movement state indicatesintent to move the vehicle and the transmission state is a vehiclereverse movement position.
 9. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising detecting a speed of the vehicle; and continuing to emanatethe sound when the vehicle is moving and the speed is below apredetermined speed.
 10. The method according to claim 9, furthercomprising detecting a position of an accelerator of the vehicle; andwherein the emanating of the sound includes changing a pitch of thesound in accordance with at least one of the position of the acceleratorand the speed of the vehicle.
 11. The method according to claim 1,further comprising ceasing the emanating of the sound upon the vehiclemovement state indicating intent to maintain the vehicle stationary. 12.The method according to claim 11, wherein the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to maintain the vehicle stationary when thetransmission state is a non-motive state and the brake state is a brakereleased state.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein thenon-motive state is one of a vehicle park position and a vehicle neutralposition.
 14. A method of emanating a sound from a vehicle comprising:refraining from emanating the sound during a vehicle starting period;refraining from emanating the sound during a vehicle ON state after thevehicle starting period and before a brake of the vehicle is moved intoa brake depressed state during the vehicle ON state while the vehicle isin a stationary state; and emanating the sound when the brake is movedinto the brake depressed state while the vehicle is in the stationarystate.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the emanatingincludes emanating the sound at a first sound pressure level while atransmission state of the vehicle is a motive state and the brake is inthe brake depressed state, and emanating the sound at a second soundpressure level greater than the first sound pressure level when thebrake changes from the brake depressed state to a brake released stateand an accelerator of the vehicle changes from an accelerator releasedstate to an accelerator depressed state while the transmission state isthe motive state and the vehicle is in the stationary state.
 16. Themethod according to claim 15, further comprising decreasing the sound toa decreased sound pressure level below the second sound pressure levelafter a predetermined period of time after the accelerator changes fromthe accelerator released state to the accelerator depressed state whilethe transmission state is the motive state; and increasing a soundpressure level of the sound from the decreased sound pressure level inrelation to acceleration of the vehicle while the accelerator is in adepressed state.
 17. The method according to claim 16, furthercomprising ceasing to emanate the sound when a speed of the vehiclereaches a first prescribed speed while the vehicle is accelerating. 18.The method according to claim 17, further comprising emanating the soundwhen a speed of the vehicle reaches a second prescribed decreasing speedwhile decelerating.
 19. The method according to claim 18, furthercomprising ceasing to emanate the sound when the vehicle returns to thestationary state after moving, the transmission state enters anon-motive state and the brake state enters a released state.
 20. Avehicle sound emanating system comprising: a transmission state detectorconfigured to detect a transmission state of a vehicle; a brake statedetector configured to detect a brake state of the vehicle; an audiocomponent controllable to emanate a sound; and a controller configuredto determine whether a vehicle movement state indicates intent to movethe vehicle from a stationary state based on the transmission state andthe brake state, the controller being further configured to control theaudio component to emanate the sound when the vehicle movement stateindicates intent to move the vehicle and to control the audio componentto refrain from emanating the sound when the vehicle is in thestationary state and the movement state fails to indicate intent to movethe vehicle.